Today we are easing into forgiveness.
Nelson Mandela wrote these words in his book.
As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom.
I knew if I didn't leave behind my bitterness and hatred.
I'd still be in prison.
Mandela knew that forgiveness was not about condoning or forgetting all of the injustice.
But about freeing.
Our bodies and souls.
From the heavy emotion.
That can poison us.
So let's settle now.
Into our meditation space.
Taking a nice,
Long,
Slow,
Deep breath in.
And releasing in your own time.
With the exhale.
And again.
Taking a nice,
Long,
Conscious,
Steep breath.
And with each exhale.
To settling more and more into your space.
With the breath allowing your body.
To become a little more present each time.
Noticing your feet,
How they feel on the floor,
On the earth beneath you.
With your attention.
On your feet.
Imagine them connecting you more and more,
Grounding you.
More and more.
Into the now.
Noticing your full body in your chair.
All of the points of contact.
Taking another long,
Slow,
Deep breath in.
And exhaling,
And this time maybe dropping your shoulders just a little bit more.
Just notice how your body feels right now.
Scanning from your head.
Down to your feet.
Maybe there's a little bit of discomfort.
When you heard the topic.
Maybe when you chose the topic.
Knowing.
That forgiveness while.
It may not be comfortable.
It's something that we know.
Is necessary.
As you sit there scanning your body you might notice some tightness in your neck or jaw.
Maybe your shoulders feel tight.
Recognizing the tension that's been held in this area.
The tension of not forgiving.
The tension of not accepting what is.
Anger.
And resentment can manifest in our bodies through our muscles and our nervous system.
We hold it.
Instead of allowing it to move through.
And maybe your anger.
Is mixed with hurt.
You might feel that in your chest.
A tightness or a heaviness.
Always there.
Always weighing you down.
You might feel a knot in your stomach.
The gut is very sensitive to stress.
The stress hormones,
Cortisol and adrenaline.
Make our stomach feel uneasy.
Blood is diverted away from our stomach into our limbs.
And moving down,
Maybe you feel it in your hips or your lower back.
We brace for conflict.
If someone violates your boundaries,
We can hold it in this area.
So you may be feeling tension in one of these areas or maybe in all of these areas.
And just acknowledge and accept what is,
Just for a moment.
And feeling.
This tension.
You will understand.
When I ask you to repeat.
Following words.
I forgive you for me.
I choose to no longer carry the weight.
I choose to forgive you for me.
And just take a breath.
As you say those words.
And on the exhale,
Allow anything to leave your body.
Knows it's time to go.
Those words create more tension or tightness.
Breathe through it.
I choose me.
I choose to forgive you for me.
No more anger.
No more resentment.
No more repeating the story in your head.
I choose freedom.
Over all of this tension in my body.
Just breathing true,
Whatever you're feeling.
You might want to bring a hand to your body,
To your heart,
To your stomach,
To your throat.
I forgive you for me.
I'm not condoning.
Never forgetting.
I'm accepting.
What's in the past?
And I'm choosing freedom for my future.
Just repeating your head.
I forgive you for me.
Breathing in.
Breathing out and letting go.
Allowing all that tightness and tension.
To leave your body through the out-breath.
And leave your body through the energy that's shifting.
Through the acknowledgement that you deserve more.
The acknowledgement that you deserve to be free.
I forgive you for me.
Breathing in.
Breathing out and letting go.
And just take these final moments to scan your body.
And take a breath to each area that still feels tight.
And tell your body it's okay to let go.
You're doing this for you,
Not for anyone else.
I forgive you.
For me.
Remember to come back to this meditation to give yourself the space.
To let go,
To forgive.
For nobody else but you.
Because you deserve.
Freedom.
Taking a final big deep breath in.
And exhaling.
Bringing the awareness back.
To your feet,
To your hands.
Bringing some movement to the body.
In your own time,
Opening your eyes.
Thank you for joining me.
